Unity Gain is a term that confuses many musicians, but don't write it off as jargon! It has a real, mathematical meaning which is important to understand if you have an interest in audio production. More details on how Science of Loud implements product promotion - www.csguitars.co.uk/disclosure #unitygain #scienceofloud #tata More from Science of Loud: Support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/csguitars Join Science of Loud Discord - discord.gg/uJHFgJRunb Buy Science of Loud Merchandise - www.csguitars.co.uk/store Website - www.csguitars.co.uk Contact - colin@csguitars.co.uk ___________________________________ *Description contains affiliate links. Purchasing using one of these links will generate a small commission for Science of Loud at no additional cost to you.*
Pedal volume on=same as off, is unity 'gain/volume". DONE. NOT ANOTHER WORD NEEDED! Quite simple to anyone. Even to the, EE's who'd laugh at it's run on diatribe, and also the non EE who'd be utterly confused, by your word salad, instead of the point. SAME DAMN VOLUME! Good job in alienating everyone, who completely understands the 'confusing', "Pedal volume on=same as off, is unity gain/volume"...without your gobbled goop, mush mouth tripe. You're worse than a 20 year old, community collage 'professor', who turns Ohm's Law, into a platitude laced diatribe, for 40 minutes.
@@kennethc2466 You don't seem to be using the word 'diatribe' correctly, I'd suggest taking some time to look up the definition and some example sentences so that you can come back and word salad a diatribe against my video some more.
@@ScienceofLoud I used it perfectly, explaining your useless, 'people be confused, because I can't explain sine waves properly, using emotional, lengthy drivel', DIATRIBE, in which it's absurdity makes it humorous...at your expense. Sorry reality makes you lie openly. Diatribe, "A diatribe (from the Greek διατριβή), also known less formally as rant, is a lengthy oration, though often reduced to writing, made in criticism of someone or something, often employing humor, sarcasm, and appeals to emotion." Your know, your BS laden, wordy, meaningless, emotional rant against the science of sine waves, which your DIATRIBE is posed over scientific fact =. I hope that helps you be less dishonest, instead of a person who deletes your factual refutation, and LIE about the definition of a word, that made you cry...and lie.
@@ScienceofLoud I'm sorry proper use of English words offends you, and makes you pretend reality is wrong, and you, alone, are right.Also, I'm sorry you had to censor (delete) my comment that shows the definition of your diatribe, twice. Is reality that offensive to you, 'teacher of science'? Fact time, that you are fully dishonest about, again. "A diatribe, also known less formally as a rant, is a lengthy oration, though often reduced to writing, made in criticism of someone or something' -you, ranting at everyone you pretend can't understand simple volume knobs Humans with integrity would be ashamed of your dishonest conduct.
@@kennethc2466 You do realise I can see when you are liking your own comments, right? You seem to be very much mistaken by which one of us is offended right now, and also by which one is pretending they can't be wrong. That, paired with the irony that your comments fit far closer the definition of a diatribe than my video script, leads me to believe what you are doing right now is projecting your feelings and insecurities onto me. In which case it makes sense that the concept of dishonesty is being brought up, because you are certainly not being honest with yourself about your grasp of language, or your own perceived intelligence. Furthermore: I haven't censored any of your comments, in fact this entire thread is pinned as the 'Top Comment' of this video. It's the first thing everyone sees in this comment section. There is a possibility that your comments were automatically removed if they contained racist, homophobic, sexist, hateful, or otherwise inappropriate language - so I do appreciate you owning up to that one.
As an Electronics Engineer (started in audio field) of more than 50 years it is great to find someone from the guitar world who understands this stuff - keep up the great work! :)
Um, you're a 4 year old bot account, showing the signs of a Media Mister account. "LOOK IT UP ACTUAL RU-vidRS". Your, "more than 50 years", as an "Electronics Engineer" (which no EE on earth calls it, as 'electronics' is not a recognized course in any ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING DEGREE on earth), is total make believe. Over 50 years in "Electronics", yet your RU-vid is only 4 years old? YOU ARE A PAID BOT, from Media Mister. Shame on you, and who purchased your tripe.
@@OzziePete1 I think he has a masters in physics, typically doesnt teach electronics, teaches you pretty much everything you need to learn electronics. Source: a guy with a bachelors in physics and another in electrical engineering.
Idea for another TATA: "low impedance signal", "high impedance signal", "input/output impedance". What does that mean? Every youtube guitar blogger proficient in electric schemas often uses the terms, and they have never been clear to me.
Impedance is a circuit's opposition to Alternating Current (AC) It's the counterpart to Resistance, which is a circuit's opposition to Direct Current (DC) A circuit Resists DC, and it Impedes AC. Impedance differs from Resistance in that there is a frequency dependent, Phase component to it (since AC alternates regularly). This phase component is mathematically Complex, so it doesn't get discussed often by musicians - compounded by the fact that when quoting Impedance we reference only the magnitude element, measured in Ohms (just like Resistance) - and people tend to wrongly conflate the two. Since audio signals are AC, we encounter Impedance quite regularly; particularly when connecting two devices together - if those devices Impede AC differently then it can cause losses to our signal. Buffers, as mentioned briefly in this video, are one solution to absorb that shock between two circuits of differing impedance. Passive pickups tend to be High Impedance (they impede AC a lot; small amount of Current flows relative to the Voltage), whereas active electronics of Pedals tend to be Low Impedance (they impede AC a little; a larger amount of Current flows relative to the Voltage) and without a buffer between those two, there is the potential to lose certain frequencies from the signal (since Impedance is frequency dependant). Impedance is non-intuitive and confusing if you don't have a working knowledge of the physics involved, so don't feel bad if it has never been clear.
Good suggestion. If you want the 30-second version, then "impedance" is the term for opposition to electrical flow in an AC circuit. It's like "resistance" in DC circuits, and measured in the same units (Ohms), but "impedance" is used when the voltage level is changing. And audio signals have constantly changing voltage to carry the sound, so they're AC. Impedance of a circuit element changes the signal going through it. And the difference in impedance between one part of a circuit and another -- or two audio boxes, like pedals and amps, or amps and speakers -- causes changes in the audio signal. Impedance mismatches can cause reflection of part of the signal back toward its source, which means the reflected signal interferes with the original signal and changes the sound. Mismatches also cause inefficient power transfer, which is another reason you care about matching the input impedance of speakers with the output impedance of power amps. You wanted loud when you cranked up the volume, not hot, so inefficiency is not only wasteful, but a hazard to electrical components. Impedance mismatches can lead to equipment damage.
Suppose you plug your guitar into a single pedal and that works fine. What if you plugged it into a long string of pedals and it sounds dull and the volume decreases. If instead your guitar plugs into a "buffer" of some kind and that buffer connects to the other pedals. There should be no loss of volume and the sound does not go dull. The difference is your guitar is high impedance (it can't drive a lot of other things). The buffer's output is low impedance, so it can drive a lot of other things with no problem.
@@ScienceofLoud You're literally the first person on RU-vid (that I've seen) that provided a basic explanation of how resistance and impedance is different. I've heard many of the channels I watch say "impedance isn't just AC resistance" without going any farther than that. Honestly just saying its frequency and phase dependent, and maybe a brief explanation of freq and phase, without going into the math would probably be sufficient.
As a retired audio engy/producer/workplace trainer for 27 years in radio, that tute was PERFECT! Young upcomings, I endorse Mr Science of Loud, you'd do damned well to listen to him!
Word, absolutely. I understood this explanation. I've also realised I've been using the term unity gain, incorrectly as well. When setting multiple levels whilst recording or for gigs, I set each channel to run at 0db. This is all prior to then use my ears to boost, cut, eq, add mixer overdrive, to each channel, so it sits well in the mix. I used to refer to this initial 0db as unity gain, not anymore. I suppose I was perceiving the uniform initial setting as unity, everything at 0db.
I used the words "unity gain" to convince the maker of the Seafoam Trident (an OD with individual drive and volume controls for each of three EQ bands!) to install a master volume on the pedal. It was too hard regaining unity gain with the amp while still being able to tweak the controls for a different sound without it.
Thanks for explaining this so clearly and briefly. I recall reading that the Warren Haynes signature Les Paul was equipped with an onboard unity gain preamp and now I understand what that means. ( BTW, as a Yank I can tell you that in the USA we don’t even pretend to like each other anymore.)
Well explained. I learned something today. I've used UG for decades without knowing that was a thing. When trying out pedals and such. Now I know why. Thank you!
Nice video Colin, one thing i notice regularly as a sound engineer is when guitar players set their levels that they often set their more distorted "lead" tones at a lower volume level than their cleaner "rhythm" tones. As soon as they're playing in a mix and kick it in they wonder why their guitar sound suddenly disappears in a mix. Human hearing perceives distorted tones as louder than a clean tone at the same volume hence i wouldn't trust my ears to tell the difference when setting up a dirt pedal. I tend to get them to kick it in and out while looking at a meter to get a proper idea of what the difference is.
As a sound gets more distorted and ends up closer and closer to a square wave, for the same peak level, the average level will increase. Also our ears are more sensitive to some frequencies than others and will perceive a sound that has more of those frequencies as louder even if it has the same peak and average levels as a sound with more of the frequencies we are less sensitive to.
Good video, thanks! I'm originally from an audio background, so "gain" to me has always meant "amount of amplification". Imagine my confusion when on RU-vid some guy tried to diss me by saying "you are clearly not a high gain player" HAHAHA The man was right, of course. I tend to prefer a more cleanish sound. But I feel no shame :D
There are clean amps with more gain then an SLO 100. I remember the video's on this channel "with ALL the GAIN". And me explaining that distortion =/= gain (does not equal) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Love the rebrand. I've learned a lot from this channel. Too afraid to ask, compression? What exactly is it doing? I know I like "squashing the transients" and I have a vague idea that it makes quiet stuff louder and loud stuff quieter. But I don't really understand how. Maybe you've covered this already. Great video!
You're honestly most of the way there with your understanding of compression. I think what will help is if you realise 2 things: 1. Amplification isn't always making things bigger, applying negative gain will make the signal smaller. This is negative amplification. 2. Compressors are two amplifiers: The first applies negative amplification to any part of the signal that is louder than a set voltage threshold. The second applies positive amplification to the whole signal to 'make up' for volume loss in the first process. The result of those 2 processes is the loudest parts get quieter, and the quieter parts get louder - as you've correctly identified. I have discussed compressors before, but not for a long time. It's very much a topic I'd like to revisit once I get a good compressor pedal to demonstrate it with (and preferably a sponsor to fund the video creation)
The Scotsman in me loves your accent, I'm in the USA so no accent, but I especially enjoy the way you break things down logically, and with humor! I plug straight in and keep it clean, because that sound makes me feel good, for whatever reason distortion makes me feel bad. But a smidgeon of overdrive is tasty in the proper context, or maybe a little fuzz? Cheers!
I have been doing this Unity Gain bypass technique on my pedal board to have the same volume when all the pedals are off and not, without knowing that this is called Unity Gain! My soul's intuition to music was doing it right! Thanks for the new knowledge!
I've worked on some of the most interesting, antique pro audio equipment for years and yet there are still little nuggets that I come back to these videos for. Thanks for continually helping me grasp concepts of a relatively misunderstood section of electronic engineering. Cheers!
It doesn't always occur, but many buffers that are "unity gain", and whose design demonstrably provides NO amplification, can *sound* louder. Why? Because, by not "loading down" the signal at the input, more of that input signal is effectively preserved; especially the high end. The result is that the output sounds louder. Not by a lot, mind you, but enough that you notice it immediately. On that same note, let us acknowledge that *buffering* is distinct from unity gain. A device may provide input buffering AND be designed to provide gain as well. A well-respected example is the ZVex Super Hard On, which provides a nice high input impedance to buffer the signal, but can also provide gain, using that same stage.
Great video, as a resident of the United Kingdom though I can confirm nobody is pretending to like each other, we all make our displeasure quite clear😅
Darkglass bass drives have the clean signal at unity gain, which is helpful to dial in the right amount of drive without mistaking the amount of saturation with just a louder clean signal.
Great content as always! Your videos are always concise, informative, and entertaining, keep it up Colin! TATA idea: does adjusting pole pieces in pickups do anything sonically, what's an ideal setup?
Very well explained (since I could understand). I would appreciate another TATA on presence though. I still cannot understand how it changes the shape...?tone...? of the sound. I don't even know how to ask
I just learned a term for something I've always done, subconsciously...making sure when I put the pedal to the metal it's no louder than what I'm playing...
Unity gain implies the opposite process will take the signal back to one, however with a non-linear device (In other words, anything that distorts or has reached distortion), the opposing process doesn't get us back to one. So when we add 30dB of gain with an overdrive pedal, applying 30dB of attenuation doesn't result in the same signal, its always a much quieter one. Same with compression & limiting. It's like starting with 1, multiplying 10 in a linear system will result in 10 and dividing by 10 = 1. In a non-linear system we may a max of 5, nothing can go beyond 5, so multiplying by 10 results in 5, so a division of 10 = 0.5. To get 1 we need to divide by 5. Whilst it is possible entirely to set a device such as a distortion pedal to "unity", it's actually much more difficult to do so by ear than a device that is "linear" (In other words, clean). Many people demoing pedals often make the mistake in assuming that an increase in gain in a non-linear device can be consistently matched by an appropriate decrease on the volume control. But with many pedals, there's a point on the Gain/Overdrive/Distortion/Fuzz where its really not adding volume, just really high harmonics that the amp probably isn't reproducing and increasing the noise floor. However people will still turn down the volume and change how the pedal interacts with the amp, leading to claims that a pedal sounds too compressed and thin at maximum gain, even though the actual signal hasn't changed in any significant way. An extreme example is a Big Muff, where from 10'o'clock on the Sustain knob to maximum, it's not creating any more output. Even a soft clipping overdrive pedal might not do all that much in terms of volume after 12'o'clcok. However, thanks for the video! It's great to see the subject explained properly and hopefully guitarists can stop chasing something that is actually detrimental to why they bought a pedal or amp in the first place.
When I said I was making gains on the guitar, people thought I was actually making progress. I was just turning the gain knob up. I need way more than unity gain to sound good.
Totally clear... love this series.... now wait... what does a volume knob do on a OD pedal? Do I have to consider that Gain is relative to where you are in the signal chain? For example: gain knob on tube screamer is set to 7, so signal is amplified, but then the clipped signal is limited by rhe volume knob set to 3 to not increase the volume of the signal the amp is cranking out. In this case, the pedal is at unity gain bc it's relative to the Amp), but the gain knob on the pedal itself is not set to unity gain, because it is amplifying the input signal.
Yeah, I think you've got it. The Gain knob is typically controlling the signal gain through the amplification stage and the Volume knob is simply attenuating the signal right before the output by chucking part of if it to ground. Your analysis is correct that, relative to the amp, you can use the volume control to attenuate an amplified signal to bring it back down to the original peak to peak level of the input, therefore maintaining 'unity gain' in the manner used in pedal demos, despite the opamp itself inside the pedal not being at unity gain.
The information in the video was great, but he should have put the different between gain and volume in the video as well. They are very different, but most people don't realize it because they appear to do the same thing. To save myself some typing, I'm cutting and pasting from another post I just made. If it seems a little off, that's why. Gain controls are always on the input of a component, while volume controls are always on the output of an audio component, Only gain can alter or distort the signal, a volume control can't. That's why you always hear the term gain staging, and not volume staging. A guitar amp is a good example to show the difference between the 2. Its the only type of product I know of where you try to get the signal to distort on purpose. If you look at your guitar amp, you should see both a gain and volume adjustment. They're usually right next to each other. Try setting the volume very low and the gain very high. You'll get distortion. What you are doing is overdriving the input with excessive gain. You also see that the overall volume is not very high, yet the signal still distorts. Now try low gain and high volume. As you adjust the volume, you'll notice that the signal stays clean. It doesn't matter where you put the volume. The signal will not distort no matter how much you increase it. When doing the above experiment, keep in mind that while volume can't distort the signal, other things can. For example, if you have a clean sound and keep increasing the volume, the sound may distort for another reason, such as the speaker driver itself not being able to handle the volume. But that's not the signal distorting from overdriving the input.
Great explaination BUT at the end you mention someone setting their pedal for unity gain. I promise that there will be confusion when listening to their sound with the DISTORTION tuned off AND when the pedal is turn on but adjusted to "sound the same". I REALLY wished you had shown this.
Escuse me Colin, but America includes North, Central and South America, it's all the continent with Canada, Mexico, Cuba, Peru, Brazil, etc; the 50 states that you mention are the United States of America (USA, that is not a name, but let's not get complicated) only one big country of America... So, saying that USA = America, is equal to say that England = UK, and we know that it isn't true. Cheers, and keep the good work. Thank you for explaining this topic of Gain isn't Distortion always. An example of setting the unity gain (of the tubescreamer or other pedal) would be very useful.
Pendantry unnecessary, as context made it abundantly clear I was talking about the United States of America, not the continental Americas. The USA refer to themselves as America plenty, just as England think that Great Britain and UK refer to England alone. Trust me, I'm not the one who is trying to erase the identity and existence of the other countries of the Americas. I understand your desire for representation.
A way I dial in unity gain for pedals I want equal volume whether on or off so I am coloring the sound but not boosting it is to run my looper pedal at the front of the signal chain. This eliminates the variance of trying to set it through guitar given unequal picking and also makes it a lot easier physically to work with the knobs on a pedal for subtle adjustments.
"The average guitarist, who's just been using the word 'gain,' to mean 'distortion." This is why my people, the engineers, and your people, the guitarists, will never know peace.
Excellent video. Well done. A TATA from me. I use reverb in post and it has a wet/dry mix knob. I've heard people using a wet/dry/wet guitar setup and have tried it. But I honestly can't tell the difference. What are my ears not hearing that everyone else can?
I really would have liked to see a demo of this at the end of the video with that tube screamer. For example: What if a pedal has both a level knob and a gain knob? What are those knobs doing?
They have to use that term. They're the same thing. A drive pedal increases gain to the point where your input tubes distort/overdrive. That's why they're called high gain pedals.
Nice video. Not sure about the USA analogy. If my guitar signal was unified like the USA I imagine my guitar would instantly grow limbs to start tearing itself apart.
